{"title":"Antimalarial pyronaridine resistance may be associated with elevated MDR-1 gene expression profiles but not point mutation in Plasmodium berghei ANKA isolates","authors":"S. Kimani, Jacob Manyiwa Shume","doi":"10.5897/AJBR2020.1097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBR2020.1097","url":null,"abstract":"The selection of resistance is inevitable whenever chemotherapy is necessary for pathogen control. Notably, Plasmodium falciparum has developed multifaceted means to overcome the toxicity of nearly all antimalarial medicines. To bypass this challenge, not only should novel drugs be developed, but the resistance mechanisms to new and existing drugs need should be fully explored. Pyronaridine is a companion drug in Pyramax®, a blend of artesunate (ASN)-pyronaridine (PRD) which is the WHO prequalified alternative for malaria treatment in the African setting. However, half-life mismatch predisposes the PRD to swift emergence of resistance especially in high malaria transmission settings. However, there are no well-characterized PRD-resistant parasite lines. Previously, stable PRD- resistant P. berghei ANKA lines were selected by in vivo drug pressure and preliminary results showed cross-resistance with quinolines, therefore, hypothetically the activity of PRD and chloroquine or other quinolines may be comparable, hence, the resistance mechanisms may be parallel. Consequently, genetic polymorphisms and expression profiles of PbMDR-1 that could be associated with pyronaridine resistance were examined by PCR amplification, sequencing and transcript quantification by RT-qPCR. The transcripts level increased during resistance selection while translated PbMDR-1 sequence alignment of PRD-sensitive and PRD-resistant was the same, the expression may be linked to PRD resistance but not mutations. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Quinolines, malaria, Pyronaridine, Pyramax®, resistance, expression, MDR-1 gene.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"29 1","pages":"102-111"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74599630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of the effects of Azadirachta indica leaf on haematology, lipid profile, body weight and organ-system functions of streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats","authors":"Ezeigwe Obiajulu Christian, Okani Chukwudi Onyeaghana, Nnadi Naomi Ngozi, Obiukwu Onyinye Olivia, Ekwunoh Peter Okwukwe, Obayuwana Erhunmwense Ann, Okibedi Frances Uchenna, Obi Chioma Henrietta","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2020.1087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2020.1087","url":null,"abstract":"This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of ethanol extract of Azadirachta indica leaf on haematological parameters, lipid profile, body weight, organ weight and histopathological functions of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal administration of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg bw.). The haematological parameters, lipid profile and histopathological investigations were performed using standard methods. Continuous administration of ethanol extract of A. indica leaf for a period of four weeks significantly (p<0.05) increased the bodyweight of the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats compared with the diabetic-untreated control. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase in the haemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, red blood cells, platelet count and a significant (p<0.05) reduction in the total serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides and very-low-density lipoprotein of the groups treated with ethanol extract of A. indica compared with the diabetic-untreated control. The result of the histopathological studies showed regeneration of the organs for the groups treated with 400 mg/kg bw of the extract compared with the diabetic-untreated control. These results suggest that the ethanol extract of A. indica can be considered as an excellent remedy for diabetes and an alternative to antidiabetic drugs in reducing the complications associated with type II diabetes mellitus. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Diabetes, Azadirachta indica, haematological parameters, Lipid profile, Bodyweight, Histopathological functions.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"63 1","pages":"57-71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87457315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. N. Ani, S.C.Udedi, B. Anajekwu, K. Asogwa, K. Ekwealor
{"title":"Inhibitory potential and antidiabetic activity of leaf extracts of Vitex doniana","authors":"O. N. Ani, S.C.Udedi, B. Anajekwu, K. Asogwa, K. Ekwealor","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2020.1098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2020.1098","url":null,"abstract":"Pancreatic alpha (α)-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase involved in the enzymatic breakdown of dietary carbohydrates are implicated in postprandial hyperglycemia. The inhibition of these two enzymes has been exploited in the design of antidiabetic drugs. This study was therefore designed to investigate the ability of the leaf extracts of Vitex doniana to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase as well as the in-vivo antidiabetic potential of the ethanol leaf extract. The inhibitory potentials of the extracts on α-amylase were assayed through the method of starch-iodine colour change while α-glucosidase inhibition was assessed by measuring the release of 4-nitrophenol by p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG). Acarbose was used as the standard. The extracts displayed a dose-dependent significant inhibition of the enzymes. The aqueous leaf extract of V. doniana was the strongest inhibitor of α-amylase with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 3.09 ± 0.22 mg/ml while the ethanol leaf extract was the strongest inhibitor of α-glucosidase with IC50 of 17.12 ±1.42 mg/ml. The result also showed that both extracts contain mixed inhibitors of the two enzymes. The result of the in-vivo antidiabetic study conducted for 14 days showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in the fasting blood glucose level of the extract treated groups of animals compared to the untreated diabetic group. These results strongly suggest that V. doniana can be exploited in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Vitex doniana, antidiabetic, inhibitory potential, Lineweaver-Burk, α-amylase, α-glucosidase.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"1 1","pages":"72-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83415374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ruth Moraa Obare, Stephen Abwao Indieka, J. Matasyoh
{"title":"Antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of medicinal Plant Leucas martinicensis L. growing in a Kenyan tropical forest","authors":"Ruth Moraa Obare, Stephen Abwao Indieka, J. Matasyoh","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2020.1055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2020.1055","url":null,"abstract":"Infectious diseases are major threat to public health; a problem that has been exacerbated by emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains. Finding alternative antimicrobial compounds from natural sources such as fungal endophytes and medicinal plants is crucial for addressing antimicrobial resistance. Thus, in this study search for endophytes with antibacterial activities from leaves of medicinal plant Leucas martinicensis was undertaken. Three fungal endophytes were isolated from fresh leaves and characterized using ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) DNA. Antibacterial activities against five bacterial pathogens were determined using dual cultures and, disc diffusion assay for ethyl acetate extracts and pure compounds. Fungal endophytes isolated were LM-L(1), AD-L(1) and LM-S(6) belonging to genera Nigrospora, Diaporthe and Epicoccum, respectively. Axenic cultures and ethyl acetate extracts displayed antagonistic activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi unlike pure compounds. Irrespective of endophyte isolate, increasing the concentration of ethyl acetate fractions from 0.625 to 5.0 mg/ml during minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay increased antibacterial activity; although 2 to 3 folds lower than chloramphenicol at 30 µg/disc. However, ethyl acetate fraction F3 at 5.0 mg/ml obtained from isolate LM-L(1) isolate belonging to genus Nigrospora produced activity that was not significantly (p≥0.05) different from chloramphenicol discs. Failure of pure compounds unlike ethyl acetate and axenic endophyte cultures suggests antibacterial activity observed was due to synergistic interactions of compounds. Nonetheless, the results demonstrate that fungal endophytes isolated from L. martinicensis possess antibacterial compounds which can be exploited further as lead compounds towards addressing antimicrobial drug resistance. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Fungal endophytes, antimicrobial activity, drug resistance, Leucas martinicensis","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"7 1","pages":"81-91"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78926049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iddrisu Abdul-Mumeen, H. Zakpaa, Charles Mills-Robertson Felix, S. Lowor
{"title":"Vitellaria paradoxa fruit pulp bioethanol production potential: A review","authors":"Iddrisu Abdul-Mumeen, H. Zakpaa, Charles Mills-Robertson Felix, S. Lowor","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2019.1070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2019.1070","url":null,"abstract":"In the last decade, bioethanol has become a powerful biofuel for the improvement of environmental pollution such as reduction in greenhouse gas levels. Yet, the source and type of substrate material plays a crucial role in the bioethanol production process due to the different compositional characteristics and availability of monomeric sugars. Different substrates of first, second and third generation fuel sources exist and may be used as reliable and sustainable substrates for bioethanol generation. The current review provides an overview of Vitellaria fruit pulp; its composition and characteristics for ethanol production. This study has examined literature on the background of the Vitellaria paradoxa, the characteristics and the potential of the shea nut pulp for fermentation to bioethanol. This review will be useful in harnessing the potentials of the shea pulp as industrially relevant substrate for use independently or in combination with other substrates in microbial fermentation processes for ethanol production. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Vitellaria, shea nut pulp, fermentation, composition, characterization, bioethanol.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"2 1","pages":"33-45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78760412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mbassi Josiane Emilie Germaine, S. Ndindeng, Achu Mercy Bih Loh, Dimo Th eophile, Mbacham Fon Wilfred
{"title":"Evaluationof in vivo toxicity of rice husk used as fuel for cooking in households","authors":"Mbassi Josiane Emilie Germaine, S. Ndindeng, Achu Mercy Bih Loh, Dimo Th eophile, Mbacham Fon Wilfred","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2020.1078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2020.1078","url":null,"abstract":"This study meant to assess the toxicological impact of nourishment cooked or water overflowed with a fan-helped top-lit-updraft rice husk fuelled gasifier stove named Paul Olivier 150 (PO150). Refined water was bubbled for 1 h utilizing this stove in an opened pot and shut room. This water was then cooled to room temperature before being managed to the rodents with body loads going from 70 to 110 g. Two kinds of tests were performed: Acute and sub-chronic toxicity tests. For the acute toxicity study, an extraordinary portion of 2 ml/100 g body weight (BW) of bubbled water was managed orally to the rodents. The creatures were watched for harmful indications and mortality day by day for 14 days. In a sub-chronic toxicity study, the bubbled water, at dosages of 0.5, 1 and 2 ml/100 g BW were orally managed day by day for 28 days to rodents. Following 28 days, the rodents were yielded, Blood tests were gathered for hematological, biochemical and histological assessment. The control rodents were managed in refined water. The example of refined water overflowed with rice husk fuelled gasifier stove indicated no proof of single-portion toxicity (2 ml/100g) when studying acute toxicity. For the sub-chronic toxicity study, bubbled water at dosages of 0.5, 1 and 2 ml/100 g indicated huge contrast in certain parameters, for example, creatinine in guys (71.81 mg/dL), uric corrosive (2.75 mg/dL) and complete bilirubin (0.08 mg/dL), monocytes (0.49 103/µL)and granulocytes in females (2.70 103/µL) contrasted with the control gathering (64.16 mg/dL, 2.25 mg/dL, 0.19 mg/l, 0.37 103/µL and 1.80 103/µL for every parameter separately) however, the information did not ascend to the level for the responses to be viewed as a poisonous impact. These demonstrated that cooking in an open pot with a rice husk fuelled PO150 gasifier stove doesnot cause toxicity at the dosages considered. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Acute toxicity, sub-chronic toxicity, biochemical analysis, hematological parameters, histopathology, rice husk.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"103 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84851493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Samuel Uchenna Ezenwosu, E. Nnamonu, G. E. Odo, O. Ani, Obiageli Constance Egilibe, Gladys Ukamaka Ogbodo, John F. Ebe
{"title":"Lambda-Cyhalothrin induced hepato-nephro toxicity potentials and post treatment recovery in \u0000Clarias garipinus","authors":"Samuel Uchenna Ezenwosu, E. Nnamonu, G. E. Odo, O. Ani, Obiageli Constance Egilibe, Gladys Ukamaka Ogbodo, John F. Ebe","doi":"10.5897/ajbr2019.1058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbr2019.1058","url":null,"abstract":"This evaluates the 28-day toxicity and 7-day post treatment effect of LCT on the behaviour, liver and kidney of Clarias gariepinus. Prior to the experiment, fishes were acclimatized for two weeks. 120 fishes of standard length (SL) / weight (W) 10-12 cm, 8 - 17 g were used for median lethal concentration (LC50) test and 120 fishes of SL / W 16 - 40 cm, 200 - 250 g were used for the behavioural, hepato - nephrotoxicity and 7-day post treatment tests. The behavioural response of C. gariepinus upon exposure to LCT was observed from 24 to 96 h. The experiment had four treatments with LCT concentrations of 0.00, 2.5 x 10-4 µg/L, 5.0 x 10-4 µg/L and 6.25 x 10-4 µg/L and 30 fishes per treatment in triplicates for 28 days. In days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 of treatment and 7 days after treatment, fishes were brought out for blood samples collected through caudal alteration for liver and kidney marker enzymes tests (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine and urea) using standard methods. There was a concentration dependent increase in faster swimming movement, hyperactivity, jerky movement, gulping of air, repeated closing and opening of the mouth and percentage mortality of C. gariepinus exposed to LCT. ALT, AST, ALP, creatinine (CR) and urea levels showed concentration and duration significant increased (p < 0.05) while total protein significantly decreased (p < 0.05) compared with controls. After 7 days of depuration, ALT, AST, CR and total protein were not different from the control. This study has demonstrated that LCT caused hepato-nephrotoxicity in C. gariepinus. The severity of LCT hepato-nephro in C. gariepinus toxicity was evident in this studies because ALP and urea levels did not return to normal after 7 days of depuration. \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Liver enzymes, kidney enzymes, toxicity, lambda-cyhalothrin,behavioural responses, Clarias gariepinus.","PeriodicalId":7631,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Biochemistry Research","volume":"5 1","pages":"18-26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88222416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}